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   Boeing is again dealing with a quality problem in production. This time it   
   concerns the attachment of the tail of the 737 and MAX, which was not done    
   correctly. Boeing has to check an as yet unknown number of aircraft, delaying   
   deliveries.   
       
   The Bloomberg news agency was the first to report the news on Thursday evening   
   after the American stock exchange closed, but it has been confirmed by Boeing.   
   The aircraft manufacturer was informed on Wednesday by its major supplier   
   Spirit Aerosystems that there is a problem. Spirit builds the complete   
   fuselages of the 737 and MAX.   
       
   On aircraft built since 2019, two of the eight tail fin attachment points do   
   not meet the correct specifications. The problem has been found on the   
   military 737 P-8A, the MAX 7, MAX 8 and the MAX 8200, but not on the MAX 9 and   
   the MAX 10s built so far. The reason why an error was made with only two   
   attachment points is being investigated. Spirit has been building the hulls   
   for years.   
       
   Boeing emphasizes that the problem has no consequences for the safety of the   
   aircraft, but according to standard procedure it immediately informed the   
   aviation authority FAA. The manufacturer must now check which devices are   
   affected by the deviation and expects to spend days or even weeks on this.   
   This concerns aircraft built from 2019 onwards.   
       
   After the flight ban in March 2019, Boeing had approximately 450 MAXs in   
   stock. At the end of December, 250 of these were still at the factory. Between   
   December 2020 and the end of March this year, 757 aircraft were delivered,   
   including newly built aircraft. Due to the extra inspections, fewer MAXs can   
   be delivered in the near future, says Boeing.   
       
   The problem comes a few days after reports that Boeing wants to increase   
   production of the MAX as early as this summer from about 31 per month now to   
   38 units, anticipating a minimum of 40 per month in 2024. In 2025, 52 aircraft   
   should be built. , just as much as before the corona crisis.   
       
   The discovery does not bode well for Spirit Aerosystems. Boeing Commercial   
   Airplanes CEO Stan Deal already mentioned a production problem in the fuselage   
   of the MAX last year, but it is unclear whether this is the same thing. In   
   2020, Spirit discovered anomalies in the nose section of the 787 it built,   
   which was later added to a problem with the forward pressure bulkhead. CEO Tom   
   Gentile said several times that Spirit had thoroughly reviewed the   
   manufacturing process to address the source of the errors, but now he has a   
   new problem.   
      
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